Once Upon a Night in the Woods
by Lady Jill Pole
Summary: I stumble across a certain Narnian character in the woods in the middle of the night...craziness ensues.
1. Of Rocks and Queens

**Okay, here's my second fanfic. To those of you who have read my other one, "Big Brother", don't worry; I haven't given up on it. There's only one chapter left in that one, so I don't plan on abandoning it. Anyway, I'm hoping that this makes you smile...it's my first attempt at humor, so bear with me please! Now, on with the story!**

**BTW: I own any characters that aren't mentioned in any of C.S. Lewis' books, so don't try to take them from me.**

"Hello,"

As that simple greeting met my ears, I yelped and jumped nearly two feet into the air, landing hard on my rear on the pine needle covered forest floor as my flashlight, shining brightly due to its recently replaced batteries, flew through the cool night air only to flicker and go out when it hit a tree and fell to the ground as well. The voice that had spoken copied my yelp, as my flashlight had barely missed its head as the ill-fated instrument of light made its arching first flight. I groaned and struggled to stand up, not succeeding due to the fact that I had partially landed on a rather uncomfortable rock and pain was currently making its self known. _My tailbone hasn't hurt this much since I fell on it three times in a week._

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" The voice and the person it belonged to rushed to my side. "I didn't mean to startle you," She grabbed my hand and pulled in an attempt to help me up, but only succeeded pulling me up a few inches before I fell back onto my rock (Hello again, my hard, pain-inflicting friend!) and she landed on top of me with an "Omph!". I groaned again, and she apologized again before scrambling off of me and standing. As she reached for my hand once more, I spoke for the first time.

"If you don't mind, I think I can get up on my own."

"Alright," She said as she stepped back, her tone of voice betraying her doubt in my ability to do so.

Having learned from my earlier attempt, I did not try to stand immediately. Instead, I rolled over and rose onto my knees. My poor, aching tailbone protested this action, but I gritted my teeth and began crawling in the direction that I thought my flashlight had fallen. I smiled when my hand met the cool metal outside of my presently dead flashlight, and crawled a little farther to the tree that it had hit. _My pajamas are going to be a mess._ Grasping my flashlight in one hand, I wrapped my free arm around the tree and slowly pulled myself up, the rough bark pulling at my sweatshirt and fleece pajama pants. I smiled triumphantly as I straightened. Unfortunately, my smile disappeared when I tried to walk. I took three steps, my tailbone still throbbing, lost my balance, and hurtled headlong toward the girl that had tried to help me.

Fortunately, she was able to catch me (a considerable accomplishment for someone I figured weighed less than my little brother; not that I'm large or anything, but you get the picture). I sighed in relief as she steadied me, and I grasped her arms for support.

"Thank you," I said, finally finding my tongue, and feeling sheepish for the display I had made of myself. "I'm not usually such a klutz."

Even though it was very dark, I could see her mouth turn up in a smile that looked slightly like a smirk.

"I know it's hard to believe after all that, but honestly, I'm not."

Her smile stayed put, but the smirk part disappeared. "Alright. Don't worry, I believe you."

Her grin was contagious, and I found my mouth stretching into a smile as well. Then she giggled. One thing led to another, and soon we were both laughing so hard that tears were coming out of my eyes.

"You should have seen how high you jumped!" She said, gasping for air.

"I know I looked ridiculous, but how about the look on _your_ face when the flashlight almost hit you in the head!"

When our laughter finally came to an end, she asked, "Does your torch still work?"

My facial expression went blank. "My what?"

"Your electric torch," she said, motioning to the object I still held in my hand.

"Oh! My flashlight!" I exclaimed and jiggled the light, trying to get it to turn on again. Then, mid-shake, I stopped and stared at it. "My flashlight…uh-oh…oh boy." I muttered, remembering exactly why I had been outside in the middle of the night clad in my pajamas in the first place.

"What's wrong?" she asked, puzzled.

"They're going to think I got attacked by coyotes!"

"Who?"

"Okay, well, maybe not that, but they're going to wonder what's happened to me. I wonder how long it's been. Do you have the time?"

"What?"

"Oh, that's right. We won't be able to see the time since my flashlight's broken. I'd better hurry, then."

"Hurry where? Wait, stop!" She grabbed my arm, halting me as I attempted to move deeper into the woods. "Where are you going?"

I sighed. _I guess another minute won't make a difference._ "I'm going back to the tent."

"What tent?"

"The tent I'm sleeping in tonight. And there are people waiting there for me that are likely worried about me, so I need to hurry."

"You live in a tent?" she asked, curiosity filling her voice.

I rolled my eyes. "No, I don't live in a tent. I live in a house. It's not around here, though. I'm just visiting my relatives' house right now. Anyway, we're camping out tonight."

"I didn't know there were any houses near here," she mused.

If it had not been so dark, I probably would have given her a strange look. "The houses in this neighborhood may be far apart, but you can still see them through the trees. Where do you live?"

She pointed to my right. "I live that way, in the castle. Have you ever been there?"

"Actually, I didn't even know there was a castle around here."

"Oh, well, then you should come visit sometime. It's very big and beautiful, you can't miss it. Oh, and it's right next to the ocean, too."

Darkness or no, at this point I did give her a strange look. "Um, maybe I'll do that. Sometime. But not now. I need to get back to the tent. Hey," I said, getting an idea. "Why don't you come with me?"

"I suppose I could. Mr. Tumnus already went home, and I'm tired of dancing."

I recognized the name, but thought nothing of it. What young girl has not pretended to have a friend from a book?

"What's your name?" she asked.

I smiled. _Whoops. That's a slightly important detail._ "My name's Crystal. And yours?" I asked.

"I'm Lucy Pevensie." Came the innocent answer.

"That's a nice…" My voice trailed off as her words sank in. _Wait, did she just say she's __**Lucy Pevensie**__?_ "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I just heard you correctly. Could you repeat that?"

"Of course. I'm Lucy Pevensie." She pronounced it slowly, making sure I understood this time.

"Uh-huh. That's what I thought you said."

"Is something wrong?" she asked, puzzled at my strange reaction to her name.

"Uh…no. Don't worry, you don't have to tell me your real name."

"But that is my real name. Perhaps you would prefer to call me Queen Lucy the Valiant?"

I took in a deep breath. "Oh, no, that's alright. Lucy's fine. Goodness, you are really going to fit in well tonight." _Oh, boy. Tonight. I totally forgot again. _"Um, speaking of tonight, we should go now. The girls are going to want to meet you. We don't come across a Narnian Queen in the woods in the middle of the night very often."

Lucy giggled. "Perhaps I should come here more often, then."

I smiled at that comment. _This girl is really cool. _"Maybe you should," Then, I added, "Come on, let's go find the tent."

An uncertain tone came into her voice. "Find the tent? Do you not know where it is?"

"It's kinda dark. So, obviously, we can't see it. That's why I was carrying a flashlight – or torch, as you call it. And," I added in a tiny voice, my face flushing, "I'm not exactly sure what direction the tent is in. Maybe you could help me find it?"

She stood silently for a moment and then moved around me and walked away. I could not see, but heard her soft footsteps on the pine needles underfoot and the rustle of various plants as she brushed past them. I foolishly thought that this meant she was leaving me.

"Wait! Don't go! Lucy? I can't help not knowing where the tent is! I got my sense of direction turned around when we met."

"I know."

"Gak!" I yelled. I had been so busy freaking out, thinking that she had left me, that I had failed to notice her return.

"Sorry," she said.

I shook my head and muttered, "We have _got_ to stop doing that,"

"Well, at least you didn't fall on your rear this time." Sweet little girl or not, I swear I heard an evil grin in her voice. "The tent is that way."

"Huh?" I know, an unintelligent response, but let me remind you that I had been scared half to death once that night, fallen twice on my tailbone, met someone who claimed to be a character in one of my favorite book series, and had been startled again by said person. Not to mention the fact that it was past my bedtime.

"That's the direction you were walking when we met."

"Really?" My hand latched onto her arm. "Which way?"

She grabbed my arms and turned me so I faced the opposite direction. "That way." She said, releasing my arms.

"Okay…" I stood in place for a moment, staring into the darkness before us, straining to see what I was looking for. "There!" I exclaimed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Do you see it?"

She was silent for a moment, and then she said, "Yes. Is that the tent?"

"Yep." I said proudly. Now, you may be wondering exactly how we could see the tent in the dark, so I'll tell you. It was glowing from within due to the battery-powered lantern that was being used. Okay, so we could not see the whole tent because the light did not filter through the rain cover very well, but we could see little bits of light here and there, and the bits of light formed a shape that looked more or less like a tent. Because of this fact, I probably could have found the tent without Lucy's help in the first place, but the thought did not occur to me until after we had located it together.

"Can we go now?" she asked, rubbing her arms. "I'm a bit chilled."

"Of course!" I said. I was getting excited now. I could not wait to introduce her to the other occupants of the tent, and I was, unfortunately, getting slightly hyper. Partly because I was getting hyper and partly because I was cold, I began bouncing in place. "Come on!"

I saw her smile shine white in the darkness, sweet and pure; a reflection of her innocence. "I can't wait to meet your friends."

Needing no more encouragement, I turned and started toward the tent. Unfortunately, I only made it a couple of steps before I was brought to an almost literal screaming halt. My foot stepped in an enlarged gopher hole, one of many in the general vicinity, and I fell forward, arms flailing. I hit the ground with a thud, and I groaned as my face planted itself on something hard and unyielding. I lay still as Lucy rushed over saying something like, "Crystal! Are you alright? Say something!"

"Something…" I muttered, then groaned again as the thing against which my face was pressed dug itself deeper into my cheek and jaw. As Lucy sighed in relief, I slowly lifted my head to relieve the pressure and groped with my hand to find the object that had decided to inflict such pain upon my face. When I found it, I growled quietly.

"Dumb rock."

**Well, there it is. So, what'd you think? Please review for me! It's very motivational!**


	2. Of Injuries and Magical Healing

**Okay, so I've _finally_ gotten this chapter finished. I apologize for taking so long to update...I'm afraid I've rather made a habit of updating slowly. Hopefully I can overcome it in the future.**

**Oh, and a warning...I think I went a little overboard on this chapter. I think Crystal is a little OOC in the second half of it, and a little bit too, um, _wacky_. I think I messed up how she would behave in the situation I put her in. However, I really am _not_ in the mood to rewrite this chapter, and I don't have any other ideas for it, so you're gonna have to take what I give ya!**

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By the time Lucy had managed to help me to my feet (to this day I don't know how she did it; all I can say is that there was a lot of flopping, pain, groaning, pain, tugging, and pain), my face was throbbing.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Lucy asked for the tenth time (okay, yes, I'm exaggerating, but it _seemed_ like the tenth…though she probably kept asking because I was only groaning in response).

"No, I'm not alright!" I snapped, and immediately regretted it. First, because it made the pain shoot ten-fold through my face; and second, because I was afraid I might have hurt her feelings. I gritted my teeth and muttered, "Sorry."

"No, don't be." She said, completely unfazed. "I'm used to one of my brothers getting that way when I try to help him. It's just different in your case because you're actually _letting _me help you_._"

I would have chuckled, but I was catching on to the fact that if I moved any part of my face, it hurt a lot. Instead, I shivered and rubbed my arms, trying to get enough friction to warm them. Even though I was wearing a sweatshirt over my pajama top, the damp chill of the night air was getting to me. "Mmph guh," I managed to say, forcing the sound through my teeth and barely moving my lips.

Lucy's brow wrinkled. "Pardon?"

I shook my head and grabbed her arm, then motioned in the direction of the tent. She understood, and we moved towards it, albeit slowly. Lucy probably would have tried to reach it in leaps and bounds, but I was in no mood to try to keep up with her and step into another gopher hole. Thankfully, she seemed to understand this, and we cautiously tested the ground ahead of us before we stepped on it. Due to this slow and meticulous method, we managed to run into only one tree and two bushes before we reached the tent. And that led to another adventure altogether.

That is, reaching the tent led to another adventure. You see, the particular tent that had been chosen for the campout was equipped with a rain-sheet-cover-thingy-ma-bob (I know, my descriptive abilities are simply dazzling). Anyway, this thing completely covered the entire tent, including the entrance, and it zipped up from the inside. Therefore, it was difficult to get through it even when you had not broken your flashlight by throwing it through the air. To make matters worse, I had pinned the cover down to the ground when I had left the tent earlier that night. Just brilliant, huh?

Lucy and I could hear muffled voices coming from inside the tent when we arrived, but they ceased when I began to fiddle with the rain cover. For a moment I stopped rattling the thing while I tried to find the stake that pinned the cover so effectively to the ground, and then the voices started again. This time, however, they spoke in whispers. The whispers had a slight nervous edge to them, and I rolled my eyes, knowing that I was the cause of their nervousness. However, I did not speak; partially because of the extra pain it would cause, but mostly because I wanted to see what would happen if I did not identify myself. Call it the evil streak in me.

With Lucy's help, I finally managed to penetrate the rain cover. We ducked through the opening and I began fumbling for the zipper that would allow us to enter the tent itself. I growled impatiently under my breath when my searching fingers could not locate it. A couple of gasps came from inside the tent, followed by rustling noises. Then I moved my head closer to the tent wall and squinted at it, trying to see the zipper in the dark. My forehead touched the wall, and just as I finally found the elusive zipper, there came a "Shh!" from inside the tent. The next thing I knew, something hard connected with my head through the tent wall. I had been caught off guard, so I fell backward into Lucy's legs with a grunt and knocked her over. She fell on top of me with a yelp, while several shrieks and a crash issued forth from inside the tent.

I moaned for what must have been the tenth time that night while Lucy scrambled off me, accidentally kicking me in nearly the same spot on my face that had been injured by the rock.

"Oh, sorry!" she gasped.

By now, my face felt like it had been run over by a truck…a big semi truck with an oversized load. However, I didn't have time to dwell on this fact because at that moment the zipper began moving along the tent wall. A sliver of light that grew steadily bigger appeared through the crack in the zipper's wake, and when the zipper had moved to the middle of the tent wall, a head poked out through the crack, partially blocking the light.

"Crystal!" the person to whom the head belonged gasped. She quickly drew her head back into the tent and yanked on the zipper, fully opening the tent flap. As Lucy helped me up, the first girl was joined by two others, and three sets of hands reached out to help me into the tent.

Once inside the spacious tent, I flopped down on a blanket and someone shoved a pillow under my head. I shut my eyes and winced as a cool hand brushed my injured face.

"What happened to you?!" someone questioned in a worried tone of voice.

"She fell," Lucy answered for me. "I think something poked her in the jaw."

I opened my eyes and muttered, "It was a rock. A hard rock, rough rock, extremely painful rock. Made me see stars, but they could've been explosions. My face will probably need stitches - not to mention be scarred for life, I shouldn't wonder."

The girls exchanged glances over my body as I tightly closed my eyes again.

"She can't be too terribly hurt if she's talking like a Marsh-wiggle," said the first girl.

One of the others disagreed. "But look at her! She looks _awful_!"

"Thanks a lot," I grumbled under my breath, though I knew that if my face appeared half as bad as it felt, I probably looked like a bomb victim.

"Seriously, she's right. Crystal probably will need stitches. We need to get her inside and wake up Mom and Dad. They can take her to the emergency room."

"Ungh!" I moaned when one of them started to push me into a semi-upright position.

"Come on! We have to go inside!"

I opened one eye half-way and saw a face mere inches from mine. "Can I at least see what my face looks like? I know we have a mirror around here somewhere…" My voice trailed off as my eyes began searching the tent.

The girls, Lucy included, all stared at me like I was from another planet.

"What?" I asked defensively. "You've all been going on about how awful I look; now I want to see what you're talking about."

One of the girls shook her head slowly as she said, "Crystal must have hit her head twice."

_No, one of you hit it, _I found myself thinking.

"Now that you mention it, we did run into a tree on the way to the tent." said Lucy.

They all tried to convince me to get up and come to the house with them, but I stubbornly refused until one of them finally brought out the mirror and shoved it in front of my face. I was feeling slightly dizzy, but even if I was half blind it wouldn't have interfered with my ability to see the state of my face. I won't give you all the details, but one long gash glared from where it ran down the left side of my jaw, numerous bruises discolored the rest of the lower left quadrant of my face, and my cheek and lips were swollen to twice their normal size. There was also a nicely sized bump sprouting on my forehead. Of course, the dirt that was smeared over it all didn't help my appearance, either.

"See? You are almost definitely going to need stitches." Said one girl.

"I'm gonna look like Frankenstein!" I wailed as they pulled me up and started to drag me out of the tent. "Wait!" I said when we were nearly out. I snagged an object with my hand, turned it around, and before any of them could stop me, pushed a button on it. A blinding light flashed in our faces.

"Crystal! What are you doing?!" asked one of the girls, the one supporting my left side.

I blinked rapidly to clear the white spots from my vision, then turned my camera around, pushed another button, and nodded, satisfied with the picture's result. "I'm capturing the moment. Making a memory."

The girl on my right grumbled. "You're making me frustrated."

"Relax girls. She's probably hallucinating from the pain." Said the girl standing next to Lucy.

"It does hurt a lot…" I trailed off.

The girl at Lucy's side wasn't finished, however. "She's not herself. It's not her fault she's acting like a lunatic. In fact, she's-"

"I'm standing right here!" I cut her off.

"You mean to say that she's gone quite batty because of her injury." Lucy finished for the girl next to her, ignoring me.

"Yes! And batty people don't listen to reason or act normally."

"My head hurts." I moaned, and slid out of the girls' arms. They gathered above me as I lay on the tent floor and were about to pull me up again when Lucy slapped her forehead and muttered something about being an idiot.

"I thought I was the crazy one," I muttered absentmindedly.

I think my mind really was going at that point (if it hadn't already). As their faces became blurry and colors swirled in my vision, I felt something cool on my lips and the most delicious thing I had ever tasted slid into my mouth, past my tongue, and down my throat. Just as everything began to fade to darkness as I slowly began to shut my eyes, my face began to tingle and the pain started to subside. I heard gasps above me, and then there was no more pain.

"There." I heard Lucy say.

I opened my eyes and saw three astonished faces and one smiling one above mine. I smiled back at her and asked, "What's going on?"

"You can't feel it?" Lucy asked.

I wrinkled my eyebrows, puzzled. "Feel wha- oh, my goodness, _feel_!" I sat up straight, eyes wide, and felt my face. "It feels fine! What happened?" I grabbed her skirt. "_What_ did you _do_?" Finding the mirror, I held it up and examined my face. Not a scratch remained. In fact, even the zits that I had discovered with displeasure that morning had vanished. "It's a _miracle_!"

Lucy just stood there and laughed, delighted with my reaction to the healing that she had given me.

"Seriously, what did you do?" I asked eagerly.

"I gave you some of my cordial."

"Your _what_?"

"It's made from the juice of the fireflower. Father Christmas gave it to me a few years ago." She grinned at me, dimples appearing. "I must say, you look much nicer without bruises and blood all over your face. Although, we should probably do something about all that dirt."

My mouth opened and closed several times (I'm afraid I looked rather like a fish) and my face flushed in excitement. "_Oh…my…goodness!_" I finally managed to get out. "You're really _her_!" I literally squealed.

"Who?" asked one of the other girls. The poor things, they were so confused. I had been the same way only a minute before, so I knew how they felt.

"Ladies," I said proudly. "This is my new friend, her royal Majesty, Queen Lucy the Valiant of Narnia."

Their mouths, as mine had, gaped wide open in astonishment.

Lucy gave them her dimpled grin. "It's very nice to make your acquaintance."

They nodded, still speechless.

"However, I'm curious," Lucy said to them, trying to break the awkward silence of the moment. "How do you manage to keep Crystal from injuring herself often? Because she seems rather clumsy. Edmund is going through a growth spurt at the moment and isn't used to his long arms and legs. He's constantly breaking things or hurting himself. I could use some ideas from you to help him."

"So you _didn't_ believe me earlier when I said I wasn't a klutz!" I sputtered indignantly as the other girls started giggling. _Oh, there are **definitely** some things that needed straightening out tonight_.

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**Okay, that's it. See what I meant about a certain character going off the deep end? LOL. Review and let me know what you think, I could really use the feedback. I really appreciated the reviews that I got for the first chapter. Thank you reviewers!**

**Oh, and my apologies to three of my most loved reviewers...I wasn't ready to introduce your characters in this chapter like I thought, but they'll definitely be named in the next one! I promise! It would be kind of hard to not do so...I got really tired of using the word "girl" over and over again. This girl, that girl, the girl next to Lucy, the first girl, the girl on my left or on my right...see what I mean? LOL.**

**~ Lady Jill**


	3. Of Constellations & Candy Wars

**Okay, here's chapter three...once again, I went a bit overboard in my writing. However, it's not the behavior of Crystal that was affected this time. I think I got her back on track. But this chapter is a bit longer than I originally had planned...it kinda got away from me as I was writing it and before I knew it, it had 3,000 words. However, I don't think anybody will mind! And if you do...well, too bad! :)**

**Anyway, enjoy! And remember that any characters in here that haven't appeared in the Narnia books or movies belong mostly to me and partially to three other individuals. Lucy, of course, belongs to the great author, C.S. Lewis.**

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When the first shock of Lucy's introduction had worn off, I sat on my pillow and wrapped myself in my big fuzzy pink blanket as I leaned against the tent wall. The other girls arranged themselves around the tent in similar ways; one of them mimicked my position against the back wall of the tent, another sat next to her, Lucy knelt beside me, and the last girl flopped to the ground across from me, turned to the side, and propped her head on an arm.

Lucy was the first to speak when we had made ourselves comfortable. "What are the rest of your names?" she asked.

One of the girls that leaned against the back tent wall was the first to answer. With an average height, layered blonde hair that came past her shoulders, and blue eyes, this was the girl that had opened the tent to us. (She also happened to be the girl who hit me on the head through the tent wall.)

"My name is Lily."

"She's my cousin," I put in.

"It's an honor to meet you, Queen Lucy." Lily said, looking as though one of her most treasured dreams was coming true.

"Just Lucy is fine," Lucy said.

Lily grinned. "All right, _Lucy_. It's great to meet you."

Lucy smiled back at her and nodded. Then, she looked expectantly to the next girl, the one lounging on the floor. "What's your name?"

The girl blushed and sat up straight. "I'm Nolee."

"That's a pretty name," Lucy commented.

The girl blushed darker and thanked her quietly.

"_My sister is a bit shy,_" I whispered to Lucy and earned a glare from Nolee. "Well, you _are_," I said.

"You don't have to tell everybody," came the reply.

I rolled my eyes as the girl next to Lily prepared to introduce herself. She reached her hand to Lucy and as Lucy grasped it, gave it a firm shake as she said, "I'm Kaylin. Nolee and I are twins."

_Oh, I forgot to mention that detail, didn't I_? "Kaylin and Nolee are identical." I remarked.

"I can see that," said Lucy, eying the tall, brown-eyed brunette twins.

"They don't act identical most of the time, though. Kaylin likes pink, Nolee blue; Kaylin usually wears her hair down, Nolee almost never does; Nolee worries a lot, Kaylin is more like me in this category…although, I'm pretty sure Kaylin was worrying with Nolee when we were trying to get into the tent." I looked at the girls knowingly.

"I was not!" Kaylin said indignantly.

Lily rolled her eyes and snorted. "If you weren't worrying, then why were you and Nolee both huddled under a blanket and against the back wall?" She proceeded to explain that while playing a game, all three of them had gotten nervous because they were hearing noises outside of the tent. They'd argued a bit, and I smiled as Lily described how Kaylin and Nolee had made her go and check after a moment to see if the "animal" was gone. They'd heard a growl as soon as they'd convinced Lily to go. Then Lily told us of how she'd taken a book and thrown it at the wall to scare anything that might be out there.

"You hit me on the head!" I exclaimed.

Lily just shrugged. "It wasn't on purpose, and you're all better now, anyway." She then told us of how they'd heard yelps and scuffling, which caused Nolee to kick the game board as she shrieked and dove under a blanket (this, I supposed, was the crash we'd heard earlier), Kaylin to upset her drink and hide her face in the same blanket, and Lily to squeal loudly. However, when the mayhem in the tent had subsided, Lily had heard a human voice outside and gone to check.

"And that's when I opened the tent and saw you." She glared at me. "You know, if you had just called to us to let you in you wouldn't have gotten hit in the head and we wouldn't have gotten scared half to death."

I grinned. "I wanted to see what would happen if I didn't identify myself."

My cousin and sisters huffed at me, annoyed, but soon Lucy spoke up again, curiosity written all over her face. "I didn't know there were other humans in Narnia. How long have you lived here? Where did you come from?"

"Um, Lucy," I said cautiously. "I don't think you're in Narnia anymore."

"What do you mean?"

Kaylin spoke up. "I don't think this tent transported itself to Narnia. We're still in our world."

Lily flopped back onto a pillow and sighed dramatically. "It would be so wonderful if we were in Narnia. Hey," she sat up straight, her face lighting up. "Why don't we check? I mean, it's _possible_ we could be in Narnia. Nothing's impossible with Aslan,"

The rest of us agreed, and we rushed over to the tent flap. Lily excitedly yanked on the zipper, and we stepped out into the cool night air. Surprised, I realized that I could still see the other girls' faces as we tromped through the brush on the forest floor. I looked around for the light source that enabled me to do so.

"Girls," I said, disappointed, as my eyes surveyed the sky. "We're not in Narnia."

They turned towards me. "How do you know?" asked Nolee.

I motioned skywards. "The last time I checked, Narnia didn't have the Big Dipper or Orion in the stars."

They turned their eyes to the now-clear night sky. The clouds that had covered it earlier, creating such black darkness earlier when Lucy and I met, had vanished. Now, the heavens shone with all the glory of the brilliant stars. And sure enough, Orion and the Big Dipper twinkled down at us where we stood.

"It's so magnificent," I said softly.

"Yes, it is," Lily breathed in agreement.

"I see the Big Dipper, but where's Orion?" asked Nolee.

"Yeah, I can't find it either," said Kaylin.

Narnia was forgotten for a second as Lily and I guided their searching eyes until they found what they were looking for. I was dazzled by the beautiful stars. "_The heavens declare the glory of God…"_ I couldn't have asked for a more perfect example.

But soon, a voice brought me back down to earth. "Where's the Spear-Head?" Lucy wondered, searching the sky for the familiar Narnian North Star.

"Lucy," Lily said gently. "You're not going to find the Spear-Head here. If we can see the Big Dipper, then we're in our world."

"C'mon. Let's go back to the tent." Kaylin said.

We dejectedly turned around and shuffled back over the pine-needle-covered forest floor to the tent. Disappointed that we weren't in Narnia, we didn't speak until after we were settled back in the tent, the door-flap closed and the lantern brightly shedding light over our faces. It was at that moment that I had a thought.

"Hey, brighten up, girls!" I said, addressing my relations. "We may not be in Narnia, but we _have_ met Lucy Pevensie. And that's certainly more than we even imagined we'd get to do tonight! Or ever, for that matter…"

My observation struck home, and it was well that it did, for I felt that if the glum mood continued for much longer then I wouldn't be able to stand it.

Lucy, however, seemed worried. "But if we're not in Narnia, then where are we?" she asked, her brow furrowed.

"We're in America," said Kaylin matter-of-factly.

Puzzled, Lucy said, "America?"

"You mean you've forgotten already?" asked Lily. "America is in the same world as England...you know, 'Spare Oom' and 'War Drobe' and all that?"

Lucy's eyes lit in understanding. "Oh, yes, of course! I can't believe I forgot!" But then her face fell. "How can I be back? Peter, Susan, and Edmund aren't with me…surely Aslan wouldn't send me back to this world on my own."

"Don't worry, Lucy. You'll get back to Narnia." Lily said with confidence.

"How do you know? Is there a prophesy about it?"

"No, there's no prophesy. We just have ways of knowing." Kaylin said vaguely.

"How?" Lucy pushed for more information.

I wiggled my fingers in the air and put a strange expression on my face as I said in a spooky voice, "We've read your future!"

In the awkward silence that followed that statement, Lily and Kaylin gave me looks that clearly said "be quiet, Crystal" while Nolee just shifted uncomfortably in her place on the floor.

"What? It's the truth!" I defended myself.

Lucy had a nervous twinge to her voice as she spoke again. "You've- you've read my _future_? Are you…" she paused and seemed to be trying to phrase what she would say next. "Are you…witches?"

We stared at her in shock, then began to protest all at once.

"Oh, no!" "Of course not!" "Never!" "No!"

"Lucy," I said. "Do you honestly think we're witches? Do we _look_ like witches? I mean, we don't look creepy or anything…do we?"

"The White Witch wasn't creepy. She was very beautiful," was Lucy's answer.

"Are you saying that _we're_ very beautiful?" asked Kaylin.

"Even if she is saying so, I don't want to be compared to the White Witch." Lily said.

"And besides," I put in. "I'm way too short to even be in the same category as Jadis."

"You are short," Lucy agreed. "But witches can change their appearances."

"Look, Lucy, we're not witches." I said.

"How else but by witchcraft or prophesy could you read my future? Aslan certainly would not reveal it to you." Lucy said with conviction.

"You're right, Aslan wouldn't." Lily agreed with her.

"But C.S. Lewis might…" I muttered under my breath.

Lucy wrinkled her nose. "Who's C.S. Lewis?"

Lily glared at me again and then directed her gaze back to the Narnian Queen. "Lucy, will you give us a minute?"

"Of course."

Lily pulled Kaylin, Nolee, and me to the far corner of the tent. "What are you thinking, Crystal?" she hissed. "We can't just tell Lucy that she's a character from a popular book series!"

"Why not? It should be far easier for her to believe that than it is for people to believe in Narnia."

"Besides, we don't have much of a choice now." said Kaylin.

Nolee spoke up. "If we don't tell her, she's going to continue to think we're witches."

Lily remained silent, so I took Nolee's comment and ran with it. "I don't know about you, Lily, but I certainly don't want to be thought of as a witch. Jadis and the Lady of the Green Kirtle weren't exactly the nicest people to ever exist…"

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Crystal." said Kaylin dryly.

I gave her my cheesiest grin. "You're welcome! Anyway…Lucy! We're done discussing!"

"Crystal!" Lily hissed, but it was too late. Kaylin, Nolee, and I rushed back over to Lucy.

"Lucy, we've read about your future in books by an author named C.S. Lewis." Nolee blurted.

Lily growled in frustration, but joined our circle on the tent floor. "He wrote seven books about Narnia." She said, not to be left out of the conversation.

"They're very popular, and they're some of our absolute favorite books _ever_!" I exclaimed.

"They're even making them into movies," said Kaylin excitedly.

"Okay, _that_ was too much information, Kaylin." I said. "You don't want to overwhelm her."

"I'm already overwhelmed," Lucy said wide-eyed.

"It's like a dream come true to meet you, Lucy," said Nolee. "You've always been my favorite character."

The sweet smile was back on Lucy's face as she blushed and thanked Nolee for the compliment.

The atmosphere in the tent was more than slightly awkward during the next few minutes, but it soon became comfortable again when Lucy recovered from the news we had given her.

"All right," she said after she inhaled deeply. "I have a question. How did the author - what was his name? – know about Narnia and my future to write about it? I mean, it hasn't exactly been _that_ long since we went to Narnia,"

"C.S. Lewis wrote about it after it happened, Lucy." said Kaylin.

"Did he go to Narnia?"

Lily shrugged. "I don't know,"

"And how could he have written about my future after it happened if it hasn't happened yet?"

It took us a moment to process that question, but once comprehension had dawned, Nolee said, "Your future _has_ happened."

"What?"

Kaylin said, "You heard her."

"How could my future have already happened?"

I grinned. "You're going to love this one."

"Oh dear…" Lucy said apprehensively.

"We're in the future!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms out dramatically.

Lily got a sly grin on her face. "Every blanket, every tent wall you see, every girl, is the future."

Kaylin, Nolee, and I smiled at the modified movie quote.

"To clarify things, Lucy," Kaylin said. "We're in the year two-thousand-nine."

Lucy was more shocked at this than she had been at our confession that we'd read about her in books. Eyes wide, she exclaimed, "But…but that means that I've been gone for nearly seventy years!"

Lily nodded matter-of-factly. "Yep…well, in a way."

"Is the war still going?" Lucy asked.

"No, it ended a long time ago," I said, "and there have been several others since then. Actually, we're technically in one now, though it doesn't really affect how we live like World War 2 did."

"Did the Allies win?"

"Yes, of course!" said Kaylin.

Lucy contemplated this for a moment, and then stated thoughtfully, "I won't ask you anything about my future and that of my family. If Aslan wishes me to know, he will reveal it to me."

Lily, Kaylin, Nolee, and I sighed in relief. _There's no telling what could have happened if we told her more,_ I thought. I could tell the other non-Narnian girls felt the same sentiment. _It's a good thing she's so wise for her age._

"Now, ladies," I said, launching into a different subject. "I think it's time we introduce our dear new Narnian friend to some of our favorite things."

"What do you have in mind?" asked Kaylin, playing along as Nolee and Lily exchanged grins.

"Oh, I don't know…" I tried to say it mysteriously, but the grin and little bounce that I gave at the end of my answer ruined the effect. "Maybe we'll find something under these stuffed animals." I knocked over the mountainous pile of various fluff-filled, loveable creatures and gasped in mock surprise as I pulled out two bulging objects. "Oh, what're these?" With a flourish, I immediately emptied the plastic grocery bags that had been concealed earlier. "Cheese puffs, cheddar and sour cream chips, Grandma's homemade cookies, peanut M&M's, and sour gummy worms!"

"So that's where you hid them!" Nolee exclaimed, slapping my arm and snatching a bag of sour gummy worms.

"You'd better try those quickly, Lucy," remarked Kaylin, "or Nolee will eat all of them before you get the chance."

"Oh, be quiet," Nolee said, whacking Kaylin with the now-open bag of candy and flinging gummy worms all over the tent.

"Hey!" cried Lily indignantly as one of the sugary morsels hit her on the cheek. Giggling, she threw a worm, attempting to hit Nolee, but hit Kaylin instead. This started an all-out gummy worm war, and Lucy and I jumped in eagerly. As we shrieked and giggled madly while chucking candy at each other, I knew that this was one of the craziest, most awesome nights I had ever experienced, and it was bound to get even better.

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**So there it is. I, as the author, have done my job in writing this chapter. Now it is your job, as the reader, to review this chapter. So click that button and get those fingers typing! :) Here's a question: can any of you guess whose characters Lily, Kaylin, and Nolee are? They each belong to a different FF author. I'll give you a hint: all three authors are royalty. It's probably a pretty easy question if you've ever visited my profile page...whoopsie! There's another hint! Let's see if you can match them to the proper authors!**

**Anyway, I'd like Lily's author to pm me and let me know if she seems enough in character. I'm pretty sure I've got her down, but I'd like your opinion, please! :) Oh, Kire, if you read this, I'd appreciate your thoughts as well. :)**

**Also, many thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter! Your reviews meant a lot to me! :)**

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